Pilot Debrief

BEECH A36 near Alma, GA — 2013-08-04

Final reportERA13FA349
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Date
2013-08-04
Location
Alma, GA, USA
Aircraft
BEECH A36
Registration
N1831W
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Fatal
Fatalities
2
Phase of flight
Cruise

Probable cause

Descent from cruise flight until impact with trees and the ground for reasons that could not be determined because postaccident examination of the wreckage did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation and the pilot's autopsy and toxicology tests did not provide any evidence of impairment or incapacitation.

NTSB narrative

The pilot was flying the airplane on a cross-country flight to his home airport in day visual meteorological conditions. While in cruise flight at 5,000 feet mean sea level (msl), the airplane began descending and was lost from radar at 2,800 feet msl, 2 miles from the accident site. The pilot did not transmit any distress calls to air traffic control. Witnesses near the accident site heard the airplane with the engine operating then shortly thereafter heard the sound of impact. Examination of the accident site indicated that the airplane had flown through trees at a shallow angle and impacted the ground on a road. Postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no indications of preimpact anomalies; all observed damage was consistent with ground impact. Postmortem examination of the pilot indicated that the cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries. The pilot's toxicology testing revealed medications that were unlikely to have contributed to the accident. Testing for carbon monoxide could not be performed due to unsuitable samples. A postmortem examination and toxicology tests were not performed on the passenger. It could not be determined why the flight gradually descended from cruise altitude until impact with trees and the ground.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Engine power loss
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have responded to radar controller before losing radar contact.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • ATC audio
  • ADS-B / radar
  • Photos
  • 18 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents18

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